The most-watched series among all K-dramas airing at the moment is Doctors (also known as Doctor Crush ). The show marks the return of Park Shin Hye to the small screen after about a year in a half; her last K-drama role was Choi In Ha in Pinocchio alongside Lee Jong Suk. Doctors is well on its way to becoming the best K-drama of 2016 for the Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS). It is by happenstance that another medical K-drama would prove to be a successful concept for SBS given the fact that their last medical K-drama, Yong Pal , was considered the most successful for 2015.
Nevertheless, Doctors is a hit among K-drama fans, but it is possible some only watched it to increase viewership ratings. The reason why such a rating was important for Park Shin Hye fans is not just the aforementioned, but because Shin Hye promised to sing and dance to the hit song by popular K-pop girl group Twice, “ Cheer Up ,” if Doctors is successful. Park Shin Hye is keeping her promise as she recently sang and danced to “Cheer Up” by Twice, uploading a video for her fans.
Park Shin Hye’s promise was fulfilled last Wednesday, July 13, during a broadcast on V Live, as reported by Korean news outlet Naver . In it, Shin Hye is accompanied by her fellow co-star, Moon Ji In — who plays Shin Hye’s character, Yoo Hye Jung, best friend, Chun Soon Hee — to help fulfill the promise. After dancing and singing, Shin Hye says to her fans that they tried their best to emulate Twice.
“We did our best, but I think this is as far as we can go. […] I feel like my soul has left me. Sorry to all the TWICE members. I feel like I’ve ruined a great song.”
Doctors airs at the time slot originally occupied by The Royal Gambler (also known as Jackpot ) starting on June 20. It opened up with excellent ratings in which at one point, it was believed the first episode had earned 30 percent in viewership. That has since been corrected; the average for the Seoul National Capital Area was about 15 percent while the nation was about 12 percent. After eight episodes, the viewership has increased by a lot; the nation is almost at 20 percent average while the Seoul National Capital Area is over 20 percent average.
The viewership is well-deserved because everything about Doctors — the acting, plot, and direction — are top-notch and on the same level of expertise that made Yong Pal popular. K-drama fans are also taking notice as they send gifts to Park Shin Hye and the cast and crew on set to help motivate them in creating a product they will enjoy watching.
As for Twice, they have pretty much finished promotions for their second EP, titled Page Two, along with its featured song, “Cheer Up.” At this moment, the members of Twice are partaking in individual or partnered projects, specifically through variety and radio show appearances, to help promote Twice, increasing recognition. As for the latest appearance, Nayeon, Sana, and Jihyo appeared on the Korean Broadcasting System variety show, The Return of Superman , which focuses on celebrity fathers specifically Lee Hwi Jae, Choo Sung Hoon, Jang Hyun Sung, and Lee Hyun Woo, and their children.
Doctors airs on Mondays and Tuesdays at 10 p.m. KST on SBS. For those who do not have access to Korean channels, especially the free-to-watch variety, Doctors can be watched for free, with ads, on both DramaFever and Viki . Right now, only eight episodes are available with 12 episodes yet to be aired.
[Image via Park Shin Hye International Community]